Portland Street Response reaches people ‘in very dire situations’ amid heat wave

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — Portland Street Response is helping people who can’t escape the Rose City’s latest heat wave .

The city team that helps people living on the street get connected to services for mental health and homelessness issues visited those they’ve contacted in the past to get them what they need as temperatures reach sweltering levels. That includes bringing people towels and water and connecting them to resources like cooling shelters.

“A lot of the people we serve are in very dire situations,” said Portland Street Response Community Health Worker Steven Beatty. “You know, we go to tents, campsites where multiple tents are. We approach people who are parked in the RVs on the side of the road. They are a little bit better off because they got some shade but it still gets very warm in those places.”

PSR workers said while the heat wave response isn’t part of their normal duties , it’s been an all-hands-on-deck situation as dangerously high temperatures are expected to last for more than a week.

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